Organizers of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race have provided new details about the tragic death of Australian sailor Nick Smith, one of two sailors who lost their lives in the recent race.
Investigators revealed that Smith was not struck by a sail boom, as initially reported, but by a mainsheet—a rope used to control the main sail. The impact threw him across the boat, causing him to hit his head on a winch.
“Nick is a very experienced sailor. We thought that he had been hit by the boom, as had Roy [Quadsen], but we’ve now learned that that actually wasn’t the case,” said David Jacobs, Vice Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “He was hit by the mainsheet, and the mainsheet threw him across the boat. Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and that’s what killed him.”
The deaths of Smith and Quadsen mark the first fatalities in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race since 1998.
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Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race organizers say Smith was hit by mainsheet
cgtn.com
